Singing off pitch . . Vibrato . . . Tremolo . .. Range. . . Agility . . . Danger of forcing . . . Interpretation. . . Musicianship . . . Foreign languages
"SHE’S flat!" Distressing words! Why are they heard so often? Why do singers so often sing off pitch?

There are various explanations for this common failing. First, of course, defective hearing. Not all singers know they are not on key. The ear as well as the voice must receive extensive training, as, alas, all too few people are blessed with the accurate sense of pitch, and even fewer have the gift of "absolute pitch." The latter phrase means the ability to recognize the pitch of a tone without the aid of an instrument. However, to most musicians this faculty is not of serious importance.

Orchestral conductors find it helpful, although it is, roughly speaking, more in the nature of a gift than otherwise. To return to our flatting singer, even though the ear is accurate, the tone may be "scooped," as when the singer tries to glide onto it instead of attacking it squarely. Or the tone itself may be dull, lacking point, focus, and resonance. Such tones almost always sound flat and off pitch, and the singer accustomed to the flat, open sound of his or her own voice may allow the voice to slide and so really get off pitch.

Frequently one sings off pitch because of lack of breath control. Insufficient breath to finish a phrase may easily cause the lowering of the whole tone of the voice, and consequently the pitch. Physical indisposition, strain, and fear, such as nervousness about a particularly difficult passage, may also cause an off-pitch note or phrase. A pinched or nasal tone, a fear of flatting, often causes a sharp tone. Forcing, pushing the voice to make it sound more powerful, will often cause a tone to be lower or higher than the singer anticipates.

There are very few singers who, at some time in their career, have not delivered tones which were badly off pitch. In fact, many famous singers have managed to hit rather frequent notes pathetically off key and yet they seem to keep their popularity. The answer to this is that in most cases the singer has so much else to offer that an occasional lapse may be overlooked. Yet, as a general rule, there is nothing more disconcerting to hear, and numerous singers have been left at the starting post because of off-pitch singing.

It must be remembered that the exceptional lapse that may happen to the best of singers because of some temporary condition
doesn’t excuse the continual havoc that some vocalists feel they can "get away with." The student must learn to hear himself and to control his voice so that any off-pitch notes will be exceptions, and very infrequent ones at that. Every tone must be practiced until it is sounded squarely on pitch, and every tone must be sung with authority and certainty, but this, of course, comes only with practice and experience.

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